


Dance with me

by TeekiJane



Series: The Boys of Summer [2]
Category: Baby-Sitters Club - Ann M. Martin
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-20
Updated: 2013-08-21
Packaged: 2017-12-24 03:23:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/934723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeekiJane/pseuds/TeekiJane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Byron has to decide how "out" he wants to be, while Jeff has a confession to make. Haley gets some surprising information from Jordan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Byron

_Fantasy could never be so giving_  
_I feel free, I hope that you are willing_  
_Pick the beat up, and kick your feet up_  
_Dance with me  
_ Orleans, Dance with Me

I can easily tell you my favorite day of the week. It’s Wednesday, because that’s when Jeff calls. 

We have a set time. Usually, he calls me—his dad doesn’t watch the phone bill like a hawk the way mine does. Plus, he actually encourages the calls. Apparently, Jeff has been a lot happier since he came back from spring break, and his dad is all for anything that keeps that up. I guess it’s not too surprising that he’s been happier. I have, too. 

We were on our fourth call, four weeks since he’d flown back to California and away from me. Jeff was telling me about how his friend Oliver was slacking in the prom department. “He hasn’t even rented a tux yet, and prom is Saturday.” 

“Really? That’s early. Ours isn’t for, like, another month.” 

Jeff laughed. “Yeah, well, I think we graduate a week after your prom.” 

I thought about that for a minute. We didn’t graduate for another month after prom. “So, are _you _going to prom?” I asked.__

He sucked in a breath. “No. Why would I? There’s only one person I want to dance with, and you won’t be there.” 

“Awww.” Jeff always knows just the right thing to say. 

“Well, what about you, By?” he asked. “You going to your prom? It won’t be so bad now that you’re no longer a loud music virgin." 

“Oh, ha ha,” I said in response to the virgin crack. That’s one of Jeff’s favorite jokes—to tell me the kinds of virginity I’ve lost thanks to him. “But really, why would I want to go to prom? I have the same problem you do about it, plus the whole ‘giant introvert’ thing I’ve got going.” 

Jeff laughed again. “That’s all for show,” he said. “Anyway, you could hang out with Adam, Jordan and Hay.” 

“Like I don’t do that every weekend anyway. For free!” 

“Honestly, By…I think you should go. It might be fun to expand your horizons some more.” He was eating a snack while talking, something chewy. 

I sighed loud enough for him to hear me. “Okay, okay,” he said, his mouth empty now. “I’m only going to say one more thing on the matter. Think about going to prom. If you decide to go, I’ll fly out and go with you.” There was a pause and I could hear him drinking through a straw. “Did you catch 24 this week?” Jeff asked, and I knew the subject was closed—at least for now. 

We hung up about twenty minutes later. I told him to take care, same as always. Jeff always responds with “love ya.” I never know how to reply to that. I know that what I feel for him could be love, but it could also be infatuation. Or even lust. Who knows? Besides, I suspect he says it out of reflex from talking on the phone with his mom. 

Either way, whether Jeff meant it or not, I decided I was still a love virgin. 

***

Jeff might have serious personal issues that he’s dealing with, but his advice is always worth listening to. He’s almost always right. But this time, I wasn’t so sure. I know I’m gay, and I’m okay with people knowing I’m gay, but did I really want to parade in front of all the kids at school with another guy on my arm? It was like asking someone to beat my ass. 

But I’ve always been a bit chicken and so my instinct is always to run away from stuff that’s scary. I needed a second opinion. 

The reason Jeff and I talk on Wednesdays is that Nick is out for the evening. He and a few friends play Dungeons and Dragons every Wednesday night. He wouldn’t be back until curfew in a couple hours. I could talk privately on any topic I wanted to anyone I wanted. 

I dialed a number from memory. Hay’s mom answered on the second ring. “Hi, Mrs. B, Is Hay home?” I asked. 

“Well, hello Byron! No, I’m afraid Haley is out with Jordan tonight. I’m surprised you didn’t know that. You’ve usually got her schedule memorized.” 

I smiled at that. “Well, I’ve been a bit busy myself recently. Must have just gotten the days confused.” 

Mrs. Braddock chuckled. “Do you want me to leave her a message?” 

“No thanks. I’ll talk to her tomorrow after school. You have a good evening, though.” 

“You too, Byron. Good night.” 

So much for that idea. I put the phone down next to the photo of Jeff and me on my nightstand and walked out of the room. Mom had taken Margo and Claire for haircuts and Dad was working late. Nick was at D &D and who the hell knows where Vanessa goes when she’s not at home. Jordan was out with Hay and Mallory wouldn’t be home from Sarah Lawrence for a few more weeks. I wandered down the hall to my brothers’ room. The door was closed but the light was on. I knocked and Adam answered. “Come in.” 

I opened the door and entered. Adam and Jordan still have a set of bunk beds they’ve used since we outgrew cribs some sixteen years ago. I can still remember them making fun of me for being scared to sleep on the top bunk when we were about four. Adam was doing his homework at his desk. I sat down on Jordan’s bed, which was the bottom bunk. “Can I ask you an opinion on something?” I asked. 

Adam put down his chemistry book and looked at me. “Always.” 

“Do you think I should go to prom?” 

He cocked his head to one side. “Of course. You only get one senior prom. Why wouldn’t you want to go?” 

I sighed. “I basically have two options. I can either go alone and watch everyone else dancing and be all pathetic on the sidelines. Or I can…”

“Yeeeees?” He dragged the word out, trying to drag the words out of me. 

“I can invite Jeff. He said he’d go with me if I wanted.” 

“Oh, I see.” Adam turned in his chair so that he was completely facing me. “I’m guessing you’d like to invite Jeff, but you’re worried about what other people will think.” He paused for a moment, waiting or a response. I gave him a tiny nod. “Well, a lot of people already know, Byron. And what’s the worst that has happened? That idiot Dan Reiber now sits as far away from you in the cafeteria as he possibly can, like he’s afraid ‘the gay’ is catching. That’s a big loss, that one.” He laughed a sarcastic chuckle. Adam has been one of my biggest supporters since I started coming out. There’s a reason he’s the first person I ever told. But sometimes I think he sees the world through rose colored glasses. 

“I’m not worried about the Dan Reibers of the world,” I commented. 

“As you shouldn’t be,” Adam replied, “but then, what are you scared of? 

” “I don’t know.” 

“Well, that’s a dandy way to live your life.” Adam picked up his chemistry book and wrinkled his brow. “Think that over a bit. Meanwhile, you took this class last year, didn’t you? Wanna help me a bit?” 

“Loan me a chair and show me what you’re stuck on.” I love when I go to Adam for advice. I always end up helping him with his homework. 

***

I guess I was just looking for someone to tell me I was right to be scared, but no one was cooperating. Hay piled more on when I saw her the next morning. “My mom said you called,” she said as she shifted her school bag from one shoulder to the other, standing in the hallway outside her first period class. 

“Yup. I also told her she didn’t need to leave you a message.” 

“Oh, you know my mom. You tell her no message and then you give her information, and she leaves me a message.” Hay chuckled. “What was on your mind, By?” 

I shifted my books from one arm to the other. “Jeff offered to fly out and go to prom with me.” 

She cocked her head from one side to the other. “You said yes, of course,” she replied. 

I frowned at her. “I said I’d think about it.” 

“Oh, By,” Hay shook her head in despair. “You need to think less, do more.” 

“Isn’t that the opposite of what they taught us in sex ed?” 

“Ha ha.” Hay rolled her eyes at my lame joke. “What is there to think about? You care about Jeff. He cares about you, obviously. I know you miss him, because he’s all you talk about most of the time. Invite the man!” 

Well. There you were. Three opinions, all unanimous. “Okay, okay. I know when I’m beat. I’ll get the two of us tickets.” 

Hay squealed. “Great! We’re going to have so much fun. You’ll save me a dance, right?” 

“Sure, Hay. Whatever.” She shoved me and headed into her classroom. The first bell rang and I walked the other way to calculus. 

*** 

There was just one more thing I had to do before I could buy those tickets. I had to have a talk with a couple people. 

Dinner was a small affair at the Pike house that night. Just me and Nick and Claire and our parents. I like those nights sometimes, but I was so nervous that I didn’t really talk at all during dinner. Nick never really talks to any of us unless you start the conversation, so he was quiet too. Luckily, Claire didn’t notice, and she talks enough for eight kids anyway. So it wasn’t as if the meal was completely awkward. 

Claire and Nick cleared the table while I loaded the dishwasher. My parents had gone to the living room and when I was done, I followed them. “Hey guys,” I said as I sat down next to Dad. 

“What do you want, Byron?” Mom asked. 

I shook my head. “Don’t worry, I’m not asking for permission for something…this time. I actually just wanted to give you a heads up instead.” 

That got their attention. “A heads up?” Dad repeated. 

“Yup.” 

“What kind of heads up?” 

I took a deep breath. “I’m flying in a prom date from out of town, and I wanted to warn you.” 

Mom and Dad looked at each other. I couldn’t read Dad’s expression, but Mom looked concerned. “You wanted to warn us you were going to prom?” 

I wrinkled my forehead, trying to figure out how to say what I needed to say. “No. I wanted to warn you about who I was taking.” 

Dad was starting to look irritated. “What exactly is the problem, here, Byron? You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, and I’m sure anyone you’ve picked to go to the dance is fine. I’ve never seen you with a girl besides Haley, but I can’t imagine you picking up someone that your mother and I wouldn’t approve of. Are you planning to take a wanted fugitive? A stripper? A hooker?” 

I laughed nervously. “No, no. It’s not like that. I’m just…Mom, Dad, I’m taking Jeff.” There. I said it. 

They looked at each other again. “Jeff? Are you going as friends?” Dad asked, although the look on his face told me he knew the answer to that question. 

I shook my head slowly and the words came out in a tumble. “No, not as friends. I’m taking him as my date. My first real date.” I realized my hands were shaking. For some reason, it was much harder to tell my parents than my brothers. But I had to finish. “I’m gay.” 

Mom reached across Dad and put a hand on my shoulder. “Are you sure?” she asked. 

“Definitely.” 

“Oh, Byron.” She got up and pulled me into a hug. I hugged her back, feeling like a little kid again, sitting in her lap. Then I realized she was crying. 

“Mom, what’s the matter?” I was afraid of how she would answer that. Luckily, my mom is pretty cool. 

She pulled back from the hug and brushed the hair out of my eyes. “I had a feeling someday you’d tell me this,” she said, her voice steady despite the tears, “but I had hoped I was wrong. Don’t worry, I support you either way. It’s just…some people are so backward about gay rights. I had hoped you weren’t gay because I worry about you getting cursed at or beaten because of it.” Mom hugged me again and then let me go. 

Dad stood on my other side. “I have a hard time accepting that you and your brothers are legally adults now. You’re a grown man, and gay or straight, I couldn’t have asked for a better son.” He put his hand on the back of my neck. “But if you ever need anything, you know Mom and I are here for you.” I hugged him too. 

“Thanks guys, for being so understanding. I’m going to go finish my homework. Good night.” 

“Night.” 

I went up to my room. Nick was at his desk, working on an essay about Julius Caesar. I pulled an envelope out from under my mattress and counted out enough money for prom tickets. I put it in my wallet and vowed to buy the tickets first thing the next morning. Before I lost my nerve again. 


	2. Haley

My parents have some rules they’re pretty strict about. My homework has to be done before I leave if I want to go out at night. I’m not allowed to be out on weeknights after ten o’clock. And I’m never, ever, to drive my car with just me and Jordan inside.

My mom has always been really cool about me hanging out with By. He could probably spend the night in my bed and she wouldn’t care. But she also knows he’s gay. It also helps that he is such an Eddie Haskell when my parents are around. He’s a little _too_ polite almost. He makes me--and anyone else I bring by--look bad. 

For some reason, I thought it would be the same way when I brought Jordan over. I mean, other than their hair and clothes, By and Jordan are identical in appearance. And they really aren’t that different in personality either. They just find different ways to cover their sensitivities. By burrows into his shell; Jordan lashes out. Neither one of these matters with my parents around, because it’s not like Mom and Daddy are picking at them. 

But things are definitely different when I bring Jordan by. Mom knows he’s straight—me introducing him as my boyfriend must been a big hint—so he’s not even allowed in my bedroom. And like I said, I’m not allowed to drive anywhere with him in the car unless we have a third person with us. I think Daddy has been taking some lessons from the Pikes, who basically have the same rules at their house. 

But Jordan and I found a way around this. I drive to this wooded street that’s all quiet, a few blocks from his house. He walks over and joins me. We then have privacy for a while, without breaking a single rule, because we don’t drive anywhere. And we take full advantage of it. 

I can’t compare making out with Jordan to anything, because I’ve never really made out with a guy before. Except Dominic, and he doesn’t count. At all. But I think I’ve been missing something all these years. Maybe hanging out exclusively with a gay guy wasn’t the best move on my part. I feel repressed. 

We were in the backseat of the car Friday night, stretched across the seat. I was lying on my back and Jordan was pretty much sitting in my lap, which is pretty funny if you think about it. He leaned back over me and kissed my neck. It’s one of his favorite spots, but I always live in fear of him giving me a hickey. It’s too warm for a turtleneck. 

We rolled over on our sides a moment later and he just wrapped his arms around me tightly. I get this tingling feeling every time he does that, especially when we’ve been in the backseat for a while. I can always feel him pressed against me, especially the lump in his shorts. There are parts of me that want to just rip his pants off at times like this and do whatever comes to mind afterward. But there are other parts that live in fear of that actually happening. 

We’ve only been together a month, but I know a lot of girls who move a lot faster than that. I have this need for balance in my life right now, and having a boyfriend throws such a monkey wrench into that. I don’t want to move so slowly that I’m a tease or a prude, but I also don’t want to move so fast that I’m a slut or regret things after they happen. I’ve told Jordan I want to take things slow, and he understands. 

I compromised this time by pressing my leg between his as we resumed kissing. There are some nights we hardly talk because we’re too “busy.” Tonight was not going to be one of those nights. We’d shifted again because my arm was going numb when he stopped and pulled a short distance back from our embrace. “Will you go to prom with me?” he asked. 

I couldn’t help it. I laughed. 

Jordan’s face grew serious. “What?” he asked, referring to the laughter. 

I reached out and touched his forehead. His hair had started growing in, and it was at that “sticking-out-in-directions” stage. I smoothed my hand across his furrowed brow. “Well, first I’m laughing because you thought you actually had to _ask_ me if I’d go to prom instead of assuming I’d go with you.” He lightened up a bit and gave me a half smile. “Second, you asked in mid-make out. You have to admit, that’s pretty silly.” 

He pressed on. “So you’ll go with me?” 

“Of course, goofy. Am I your girlfriend, or what?” 

He smiled fully. “That’s good. I’m glad.” 

I grinned at him. “You sound relieved. Did you really think I’d say no?” 

He looked away, which is hard to do when we’re that close together. “Not really. I didn’t think you’d want to go with someone else or something like that. I was more worried you wouldn’t want to go at all.” 

I kissed his nose. “No, it’s going to be great. By’s bringing Jeff, you know, and I’m sure Adam will be there. I’m going to try to talk Vanessa into coming, too.” 

“Sometimes I wonder if you love me or my family.” 

“Who says I love you at all?” 

Jordan pulled back a little farther and turned his head slightly to one side. I wiggled a little closer to him, careful not to tip the two of us off the seat entirely. It’s happened before. “So, what is prom like?” I asked. I’m a junior and I’ve never had a chance to go. Jordan went last year with some cheerleader named Amanda. 

He thought about that for a second. “You eat, you dance, you get your picture taken. You spend some time with your friends and some with your date.” He shrugged. “I think it will be different this year.” 

I snuggled my head next to his neck. I could hear every breath he took that way. Very soothing. “How so?” 

“Well, I’m a senior. This is the last dance with everyone. I’ve known some of these people since kindergarten.” Jordan kissed the top of my head. “And then there’s you. I wanted to ask you go with me last year, but I thought you were dating Byron.” 

That was something new. “You thought I was with _By_?”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t know he was gay back then.” 

“Okay, then. I could see how you’d make that mistake.” I put one hand on his back, right between his shoulder blades, and pushed hard with the butt of my hand. He groaned as if I were doing something dirty instead of massaging him. When I was done, we lay there for a few minutes, quiet. He ran one hand up and down my side, from the band of my jeans up to the side of my breast. “So what about after prom? What do people do then?” 

Jordan didn’t stop moving his hand. “There are a couple options I’ve heard of. The school hosts a post-prom, where you pay five bucks and then do whatever in the basement at the university for a couple hours. I think there’s bowling and video games and cards and prizes and stuff. The point is to prevent us from going out and drinking.” He shifted slightly, and the hand was on my breast. He kept talking. “Of course, there’s always Dan Reiber’s party, which is exactly the type of debauchery that the school wants us to avoid.” 

I wrinkled my nose. “I am not a fan of Dan Reiber,” I said, thinking of the way he’d written ‘Byron Pike is a fag,’ in one of the boys’ bathrooms at school. 

Jordan’s hand found a nipple and he twirled two fingers around it, slowly. “I’m not exactly good friends with him either these days. But there will probably be a hundred people at this party. Mr. Reiber is rich and likes to throw money around. I think he knows it’s the only way Dan can make friends. So he gets him a huge suite with a hot tub and buys a shit ton of alcohol. It’s fun for a couple of hours, then everyone’s wasted and there are literally people doing it on, like, every surface. Kinda tacky.” 

“Isn’t prom night when you’re _supposed_ to lose your virginity?” I don’t know what made me say it. I had no intention of deflowering Jordan (isn’t that a funny word?) at prom, or any other time soon. I think it just naturally followed what he was talking about. But Jordan retracted his hand as if my boob had just turned into a hot coal. He pulled his arm out from underneath me and sat up suddenly on the edge of the car seat. His butt was right by my side. 

“I’m sorry,” I said, sitting up beside him and rumpling my messy hair, attempting to make it look less like sex hair (as Vanessa would say.) “That was totally a joke.” 

He moved closer, still looking down. Without a word, he reached over and moved his hand up the back of my shirt, pushing the shirt up. I turned my back to him and he fastened my bra back up. “I know. I just…”

“Yes?” 

Jordan changed directions. “Have you ever heard of the Faith League?” he asked. 

I nodded. It sounded vaguely familiar, like I’d seen kids at school wearing the shirts. “It’s a Christian group at school, right?” 

“Yeah. They meet every Tuesday all year long. Until baseball season, I was going every week. It’s not just Bible and Jesus; we actually talk about a lot of things that affect our lives as teens.” 

I put one hand on his knee while he talked. “Sounds like a good group of friends to have,” I commented. Actually, it sounded dead boring. My parents never really raised my brother and me in any kind of religion, and I’m not sure I even believe any of it. Some of the stories in the Bible are pretty silly, after all. I know the Pikes go to church every Sunday and encourage their kids to come with. By usually goes about once a month to keep his parents off his back, but he never seemed too interested in it. He seems to be a Christmas-and-Easter type of Christian. 

But I guess Jordan is different. Since we’ve been together, I think he’s gone to church every Sunday with his parents. I know he played the piano at one of those services. He’s never been pushy about religion and he doesn’t talk about it much, so I wasn’t really worried about it. Until now. 

“Yeah, there’s some really neat people in Faith League. You’d like some of them.” He looked out the car window as a set of headlights flashed by. I thought he was done, but just when I was about to change the subject, he started talking again. “Back in October or so there was a lot of talk about sex and the amount of thought that needs to go into the decision to have sex. Some of us got to talking, and we decided to take a pledge.” 

“A pledge?” Several images ran through my head and none of them were particularly pleasant. I was actually imagining Jordan joining a cult. Sometimes my imagination runs away from me. “What kind of pledge?” 

He looked away from me again, but began running one fingernail up and down the outer seam of my jeans, making a strange sound. “A purity pledge. We vowed to remain virgins until marriage.” 

Wow. “Really?” I asked. I never think about marriage, particularly. I’m seventeen—I don’t plan on getting married for another ten or fifteen years, if ever. 

Jordan looked embarrassed. “I’m not saying I’ll actually make it all the way to marriage,” he said, blushing a little, “but basically, I wanted to take sex off the table for now. There’s really too much else going on for me to even be thinking about it. Baseball. College. You.” He was still running his nail on my jeans. I caught his hand to stop him, because it was making my thigh really warm. He finally looked me in the eye. “Of course, you do complicate things. Before you, I’ve never actually wanted to…”

He didn’t have to finish the thought; I felt the same way about him. “I know what you mean,” I said. 

“And I don’t know how fair it is to you to continue to honor that pledge. You didn’t make one, after all.” 

I still had his hand and I squeezed. “It’s okay, Jordan. I’m not ready, either. I really was just kidding about prom night, anyway.” He didn’t look soothed. “Tell you what. I’ll make my own version of the pledge. I vow that I will not make jokes about things that are serious to you, and I vow to take anything sexual slowly, and not pressure for anything we don’t both agree on. Sound fair to you?” 

He smiled. “You are the best, Haley.” 

I grinned back at him. “I know.” I wasn’t quite ready to tell Jordan that I wasn’t making that pledge for him, but for me. When you have my lousy history with guys, it’s sometimes hard to even trust a guy to touch you at all, as much as you might want him to. But I wasn’t quite ready to tell Jordan he had a rape victim for a girlfriend, so it was easier to let him think it as all his idea. “I have fifteen minutes before I have to head home for curfew. Got any ideas on how we can spend it?” 

Jordan leaned over and kissed me. “I have a few…”


	3. Jeff

Brrrrring.

“Hello, Schafer-Olson residence.” 

“Jeff?” 

“By! What’s up? It’s not Wednesday already, is it? Heh heh.” 

“No, but I was so excited, I couldn’t wait. I’m glad you were home. I bought us tickets to the prom today.” 

“Really! Last time we talked, you were still waffling over it.” 

“Well, I decided, fuck anyone who doesn’t like it. I’m as entitled to go to the prom with the person I’m dating as they are.” 

“Good for you. What did they say when you put our names down?” 

“No one said a word. But I also don’t think they even looked at the names I wrote down, either.” 

“Well, that’s one hurdle down.” 

“Two actually. I told my parents the other night.” 

“Told ‘em you were gay, or told ‘em about us?” 

“Both. My mom is doing that overprotective mom thing, where she’s all worried about me. But they were pretty cool.” 

“That’s great. Listen, By, you’ve inspired me. I need to go talk to someone, but I’ll call you Wednesday, okay?” 

“Yeah, sounds good. Take care, Jeff.” 

“Love ya.” 

Click. 

Knock, knock. 

“Dad?” 

“Yes?” 

“Can I talk to you?” 

“Sure. I’ve got a few minutes before I have to pick Gracie up from soccer. What’s on your mind, son?” 

“I’ve got something I have to tell you.” 

“This sounds serious. Do you want to sit down?” 

“No, it’s not like that. Well, it’s important but I don’t think you’d call it serious, really…”

“Jeff, you’re babbling. Why don’t you just tell me what you came in here to say?” 

“I got invited to prom back in Stoneybrook. Mom said she would pay for the tickets if I wanted to go out for the weekend.” 

“Is that all? Of course you can go to Stoneybrook for the prom. Which one of the girls are you going with? It was Vanessa and Bailey on that trip, wasn’t it?” 

“Actually, it was Vanessa and Haley. But I’m not going with either of them.” 

“Oh?” 

“Yeah. Haley’s dating Jordan and I think Vanessa’s got some weirdo boyfriend I’ve never met.” 

“So then, you’re going with…”

“Byron.” 

“Byron? He’s one of the triplets, right?” 

“Yup.” 

“Jeff, are you trying to tell me you’re gay?” 

“No. Well, maybe.” 

“You’re not making much sense, son.” 

“What I’m trying to tell you is that I don’t know. Maybe I’m gay. Maybe I’m bisexual. I just haven’t figured that out yet. But what I do know is that I really like Byron.” 

“You _like_ him? You guys are friends, right? You’re supposed to like your friends.” 

“Dad. I’ve kissed him a few times. Okay, maybe more than a few. Byron is definitely gay, but I liked him even before I knew that. All I can tell you for sure is that By and I really care about each other and we’re more than friends.” 

“I guess that’s what really matters then, isn’t it? Listen, I have to go pick Gracie up. When you decide what you ‘are’, you’ll be sure to let me know, right?” 

“Sure, Dad.” 

I’d never heard my dad sound so sarcastic before. After he left, I put my head down on the arm of the couch and cried.


End file.
